Unforgiven
by tir-synni
Summary: A review of Kenshin's life. Can the pains of the past ever truly be forgiven?


Unforgiven

by tir-synni

I don't own the characters...they belong to someone else. I don't own the song...it belongs to Metallica. All clear? Enjoy the fic then! My first songfic! I have a lot of firsts, don't I?

New blood joins the earth

And quickly he's subdued

__

A young Shinta being sold to the slavetraders. Desperately, the redhead glances back behind him, at the only home he's ever known. One of the slavetraders notice and strikes him in the jaw. Shinta stumbles and falls to his knees. A trickle of blood streams out of the corner of his mouth, landing silently on the dirt.

Through constant pained disgrace

The young boy learns their rules

__

A whip slams on Shinta's back after he stumbles and drops a load of wood. Another one hisses, slashing his thin clothes and drawing blood. He bows in head in shame and humiliation, tears burning his eyes, as he quickly scoops up the fallen wood. Another whip sears him, and he hurries his pace.

With time the child draws in

This whipping boy done wrong

__

From a distance, young Shinta is seen, kneeling among many other slaves. The others are cast in shadow, while the blood on his fraying clothes and his hair, covering his bowed head, shines in the dark.

Deprived of all his thoughts

The young man struggles on and on he's known

A vow unto his own

__

Hitokiri Battousai stands in the shadows of a building, his amber eyes narrowed and glowing. A flash to his hands as he clenches them around his blade. They tighten as Battousai's target comes into sight.

That never from this day

His will they'll take away

__

He turns away from Katsura, disregarding his offer to attend the meeting. Coldly, Battousai informs him he can only serve him as an assassin.

What I've felt

What I've known

Never shined through in what I've shown

__

Battousai walking away from Akira's lifeless body, the scar on his face bleeding freely. A single flower rests on Akira's back--the one he had been reaching for when Battousai had killed him. The one Battousai had put there.

Never be

Never see

Won't see what might have been

__

A young Shinta smiling at his parents, soundless laughter coming from his mouth. He reaches for them, only to withdraw in horror. Now only his parents' rotting corpses lay before him.

What I've felt

What I've known

Never shined through in what I've shown

__

Battousai fingering one of his many books longingly. He bows his head and jerkily turns away, stalking to yet another assignment.

Never free

Never me

So I dub thee unforgiven

__

Battousai completing another assignment. This time, however, he doesn't walk away. He stares, horrified, at his reflection in the water, as his victim's blood washes over it. He stares at his reflection, trapped behind a sea of blood.

They dedicate their lives

To running all of his

He tries to please them all

This bitter man he is

__

Battousai accept another black envelope, his eyes like golden mirrors as he slips it into his sleeve. He doesn't say a word of protest. He simply walks away. The pain in his soul never shows.

Throughout his life the same

He's battled constantly

__

Flash of Kenshin living with Tomoe, struggling to leave his hitokiri days behind him. He smiles, commenting happily that his father was a great farmer. Perhaps he could be, too.

This fight he cannot win

A tired man they see no longer cares

__

A dazed Kenshin/Battousai, stumbling through the snow to reach Tomoe. All the while, the same words are running through his mind, that he had killed Tomoe's fiancee, that she was a traitor...that he should kill her.

The old man then prepares

To die regretfully

That old man is me

__

Bloodied and scarred, Kenshin holds Tomoe in his arms, screaming a sobbing denial to the sky. Then he collapses, clutching Tomoe's lifeless body to him.

What I've felt

What I've known

Never shined through in what I've shown

__

Battousai spinning his top before him in his bedroom. He stares at it, his golden eyes flashing violet for a moment. In that moment, a tear shines.

Never be

Never see

Won't see what might have been

__

Young Kenshin turns hopefully to Hiko as he successfully completes a maneuver. The move had been perfect, yet Hiko snorts scornfully and informs him he would never be good enough. The smile fades from Kenshin's face, and he turns away. He's never good enough.

What I've felt

What I've known

Never shined through in what I've shown

__

At night, when all is dark and silent, a night when Battousai has no assignments, he buries his face in his hands. He tries to cry, to mourn the ones he had killed, but the tears won't come.

Never free

Never me

So I dub thee unforgiven

__

Battousai standing before a mirror. Shakily, he reaches up and fingers his cheek. The gash Akira gave him is still bleeding, and his hand comes away wet with his blood.

You labeled me

I'll label you

So I dub thee unforgiven

__

Battousai walking away from the mirror, his hand now utterly soaked with his blood. Behind him, the mirror lays in pieces, shattered by his fist.

Never free

Never me

So I dub thee unforgiven

__

Kenshin, ten years after he had given up the Battousai. He laughs with Sano and does the dishes for Kaoru without complaint. Unconsciously, he reaches up to touch the scar on his cheek. The pain he feels never reaches his eyes.

You labeled me

I label you

So I dub thee unforgiven

__

"What's your name?"

"Shinta."

"A child's name. From now on, you'll be called Kenshin."

"Ken--shin...."


End file.
